Yelawolf at Skully’s

Yelawolf is, first and foremost, a performer. He makes records, but you haven’t truly experienced the tatted-up trailer-park phenom until you’ve seen him rock rhymes in the flesh. I saw him at SXSW two years in a row, and both times it was memorable, whether for his absurd showmanship or his ridiculous skills.

And given how effectively Radioactive, his 2011 debut for Eminem’s Shady Records, channels the spirit of 2010’s Trunk Muzik 0-60 mixtape, there’s little reason to think Yelawolf will go anything but hard Friday at Skully’s.

OK, Radioactive’s R&B and dubstep turns were a mistake, and naming a song “The Hardest Love Song in the World” was too self-conscious. But the street music was as thrilling as anything Yelawolf has recorded, and the guest list neatly sums up his style: White trash Detroit superstars (Eminem, Kid Rock), hard-nosed Atlanta pros (T.I., Killer Mike), Southern spazz masters (Lil Jon, Mystikal).